One of the things that is critical for your home or work convenience is also something that people frequently forget about: Your temperature. Over the last 50 years, people have gotten so used to the idea of climate control in a home that it’s taken for granted; air conditioners keep things cool in the summer, while the furnace system ensures a warm, comfortable winter.
But your HVAC system, like many of the mechanical systems we use, is not a perpetual motion machine that will fun flawlessly forever. There are many different components to your HVAC system, and when things go wrong, you’ll want to get the situation addressed quickly. But here’s where the question comes in; should you repair your HVAC components, or replace them? We’ll take a look at the factors involved.
The Air Conditioner
When it comes to being able to get a good night’s sleep without being drenched in your sheets during the summer, the air conditioner is a lifesaver. ACs have now been with us for decades, coming in portable units that sit in a window, and larger, centralized units that work in concert with your furnace to distribute cool air to every room in a home.
If you’re finding you need to repair your AC on a regular basis due to frequent breakdowns, this is a big, red flag. However, even if you haven’t reached that stage, you should consider a replacement if your AC is more than ten years of age. You should also plan to replace the air conditioner if you’re finding your electricity bill going up due to AC usage, but you’re not using your AC more than normal.
Your Furnace
In one sense, the furnace is the heart of many HVAC systems because it is used both to heat your home and to cool it down, by pumping air throughout the home that comes from your AC. So it’s important to make sure this unit is in good condition. Minor repairs aren’t too unusual with a furnace, and keep it working reliably for years.
However, if you’re noticing that different rooms in the building are being heated unevenly, or that you’re noticing rust/corrosion or even cracks in parts of your furnace itself, get an HVAC expert to take a look. As with the AC, furnaces have a “lifespan,” though in this case, you can usually count on 20-30 years of reliable operation if a good furnace and a quality installation. If you have a much older furnace, from the 20th century, you may want to replace your furnace for better efficiency and lower bills.
What About Thermostats?
The thermostat is an interesting piece of hardware in that there’s very little leeway here. If the unit is broken, it almost always makes more sense to replace it, rather than attempt a repair. This is especially true if the thermostat is very old, and is a 20th-century mechanical model that still uses liquid mercury to measure room temperature.
It’s often a far less accurate mechanism than today’s digital models. In many cases, if you’re upgrading your HVAC system anyway, it’s strongly recommended you replace your thermostat if it’s an obsolete model. New, programmable thermostats work far better with today’s HVAC systems.
Your HVAC system is critical to maintaining a comfortable environment at home or at work in Sparks, NV. It makes good financial sense to repair minor issues, but make sure you’re willing to make the jump to a replacement when the time is right.